Quiller captures NCAA Division I pole vault title

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Graduate student Rory Quiller (West Point, N.Y.) concluded his collegiate career in dramatic style on Friday night at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, becoming the first Binghamton athlete ever to win a NCAA Division I championship. He won the pole vault title with a height of 18-0 1/2.

With the win, Quiller has now earned All-America honors three times during his career. He was second in the 2007 NCAA Indoor Meet and tied for fourth at the 2007 Outdoor Championships.

While Quiller is the first Binghamton athlete to win an individual Division I championships, there were 11 other such winners prior to the athletic department's transition to the Division I level in 2001. Binghamton had 10 individual national champions during its NCAA Division III era (until 1998). Six of those wins were in track & field, all under current head coach Mike Thompson. The other four champions were in wrestling. In its three years at the NCAA Division II level (1998-01), the Bearcats had their lone individual champion in 1999 when Brian Hamilton won the indoor long jump title. With Quiller's win, Thompson now has the rare distinction of having coached a NCAA champion at all three Division levels.

“We are very proud of Rory Quiller,” said Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur. “He is a talented student and a record-setting athlete. Rory has represented Binghamton University at the highest level against national competitors from long-established programs. Our entire campus community is proud of the skill, determination, and winning spirit that he has demonstrated this season.”

"Speaking for myself and for the entire athletic department, we couldn't be prouder of Rory's accomplishments as a student-athlete at Binghamton University," Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Thirer said. "It's been an absolute pleasure to have been associated with Rory throughout his academic and athletic years at Binghamton. I'm delighted that he has enjoyed such great athletic success as a result of his hard work and dedication to his sport, while maintaining an outstanding record in the classroom. And, just as importantly, it couldn't happen to a nicer young man."

In addition to becoming the first Binghamton athlete to win a NCAA Division I title, Quiller is also the first America East Conference athlete to win a national championship in its 29-year history.

"Rory's legacy is now secured in America East Conference history," America East Commissioner Patrick Nero said. "His accomplishments were tremendous before this NCAA Championship, now he will always be remembered within the conference as our first individual national champion. He becomes the standard for all the student-athletes that will follow him."

By Ken Mcmillan
Times Herald-Record
March 11, 2008
Robb Quiller was preparing to pole vault at the state high school championships on Saturday in Ithaca when he heard that older brother Rory was already jumping at a personal-best height in Boston.

"That kind of motivated me not to be shown up, that I had to live up to that expectation and make it a good day for all Quiller jumpers,'' Robb said.

Rory won the IC4A championship at 18 feet, 6½ inches. He spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for caller I.D. updates on Robb from their father — longtime Army track coach Jerry Quiller — on his dying cell phone.
"I could barely hear, it's so loud at that meet," Rory said. "All I could hear was breaking in and out '15-9, first attempt.' I was in the corner and more excited at that point than when I was walking off the pit after making" a jump.

Robb blew past the Section 9 indoor mark he set a week earlier and won the state title at 16-1, just four inches shy of the state mark — he failed on three subsequent attempts at 16-6.

"I think I snaked over, not too much room,'' Robb said of his winning leap.


Going to another level
The Quiller brothers have both vaulted into the elite of the nation.

Rory, a grad student at Binghamton University, is the top-ranked collegian heading into this weekend's NCAA Division I indoor championships in Arkansas. He is ranked sixth in the nation and 27th in the world.

Robb is ranked second in the state and 14th in the nation. The James I. O'Neill senior is headed to the national scholastic championships this weekend at the New York Armory.

What's amazing is both brothers have made marked improvements in just the past three weeks. Rory improved by almost five inches, winning the America East Conference title and placing second at the U.S. Indoor Nationals. He laughs because track and field bloggers have put out the question: When did this kid learn how to vault?

"It may be shocking for people who don't know me," Rory said. "It's different from mine and coach's standpoint. I've been jumping high for a while, but the bar is staying up. I am getting on bigger poles. I just keep getting better."

Robb was stuck at 14-6 — the height at which he won the OCIAA and Section 9 Class B titles — before popping off a 15-footer at Eastern States on Feb. 26, a 15-6 at the state qualifier on March 2 and the 16-1 just six days later.

"That kind of improvement is generally just unheard of," Rory said.

"It's pretty crazy," Robb said. "I think I am starting to figure out what I need. I always felt I had the potential to be jumping in the 15-s, maybe 15-6 throughout the season. I had the height, but maybe I had a bad day or my hamstring was hurt or the pole was too small. Then when I jumped in the 15s, it was like I broke a mental barrier. Then I started looking at 16.

"I think the key to what I try to do is not be intimidated by it. You have to realize that nothing is impossible in pole vault — it's just a couple more inches. "¦ It's not bad when you think about it like that.''

Binghamton coach Mike Thompson worked with Rory for five years and now he gets Robb for at least the next four at Binghamton. He, too, was impressed with the surge, but not totally surprised.

"You can tell that Robb was capable of jumping a lot higher than he had," Thompson said. "He's aggressive and he has a great mentality about the event. It's fun watching him jump. He is all business."


Good health and good poles
How did it come together so quickly for the Quillers? For one thing, both brothers are finally healthy: Rory missed four weeks early in the winter season with pneumonia and Robb has battled hamstring problems. Both of them have also adjusted well to newer, longer poles.

"I moved to a stiffer pole to give me a shot off the top and it worked perfectly," Robb said. "My standards were exactly where they needed to be. Everything was perfect and it worked out."

Rory tends to thrive on competition. He is a five-time NCAA qualifier, placing second at the 2007 indoor meet and fourth at the 2007 outdoor meet. On Feb. 23, he competed in his first USA championships and took home the silver medal with a jump of 18-4½, his best effort at the time.

"The motivation, the adrenalin and being next to guys who won Olympic gold medals and world championship titles was so exciting," Rory said. "I was trying to control it. There's no way I wasn't going to have a lot of height that day. Being around great competition, your body just goes to that next level.''

Rory would like to win his first NCAA title this weekend, and he expects a tough competition with vaulters from Stanford, Clemson and Kansas. "With the four of us," Rory said, the odds of one not setting a personal record "will be pretty slim."

His prime focus, though, is improving on his 18-6½ and reaching the U.S. Olympic Trials automatic standard of 18-8¼.

Thompson is sure his existing height will be more than enough to qualify for the June 27 preliminaries in Oregon.

"I really feel like 18-6 is good, but it's not good enough,'' Rory said. "It's on me to improve.''

Rory is certain his younger brother will beat his Binghamton jumping records within a few years. He lost his high school mark to Robb, but at least he'll have a substantial lead in the college ranks. No doubt that will push the younger Quiller.

"I hope to keep it kind of close,'' Robb said. "He's only 2½ feet ahead of me."

ic4a rory quiller soars

Men Pole Vault
=================================================================================
Meet Record: M 5.70m 1992 Istvan Bagyula, George Mason
Facility: F 5.40m 2007 Rory Quiller, Binghamton University
NCAA Auto: N 5.50m
NCAA Prov: @ 5.20m
Name Year School Finals Points
=================================================================================
1 131 Quiller, Rory PG Binghamton 5.65mN 18-06.50 10
2 1361 Walter, Ronald 09 Pittsburgh 4.90m 16-00.75 8
3 1505 Depalo, Eric 10 Yale J4.90m 16-00.75 5.5
3 672 Uqdah, Khalil 10 Lehigh J4.90m 16-00.75 5.5
5 694 Shepherd, Kolby 11 Liberty J4.90m 16-00.75 4
6 1028 Underwood, Sutton 09 So Conn St J4.90m 16-00.75 3
7 1368 Carstensen, John 09 Rhode Island J4.90m 16-00.75 2
8 382 Kirkpatrick, Josh 10 Cornell J4.90m 16-00.75 1
9 1248 Schoen, Luke 10 Albany J4.90m 16-00.75
10 1224 Dempsey, Michael 11 Albany 4.80m 15-09.00
11 138 Yelverton, Kris 08 Binghamton J4.80m 15-09.00
12 897 Spataro, Chris 11 Robert Morris 4.70m 15-05.00
13 311 Lofland, Kiernan 10 William & Mary J4.70m 15-05.00
13 565 Gil, Sean 11 Harvard J4.70m 15-05.00
-- 853 Thrull, Jordan 10 Northeastern NH
-- 748 Tkachenko, Nikolay 08 Manhattan NH
-- 378 Inzana, Jason 10 Cornell NH
-- 906 Duggan, Brian 09 Rutgers NH
-- 923 Stanley, Jamie 08 Rutgers NH
-- 818 Dzyak, Josh 08 Mt St. Mary NH

rob quiller state champ 16 feet 1 inch

Boys Pole Vault
================================================================
State Record: # 16-05 12/27/2005 Casey DiCesare, Irvington
Name Year School Finals
================================================================
1 965 Rob Quiller 12 James O'Neill 16-01.00
2 635 Ryan Pericozzi 12 Lancaster 14-09.00
3 966 Eric Van Aernam 12 Wallkill 14-06.00
4 276 Jeff Reinker 12 Shenendehowa 13-06.00
4 1430 Aaron Koninsberg 11 Hackley School 13-06.00
6 967 Ben Brunjes 12 Warwick Valley 13-06.00
7 636 Adam Helman 11 Grand Island 13-00.00
8 1336 Matt Letellier 11 Arch. Molloy 13-00.00
9 465 Eric Hine 12 Elmira 13-00.00
10 568 Adam Girdner 12 Gates-Chili 13-00.00
11 1183 Christopher Costan 12 Port Jefferson 12-06.00
11 567 Will Spencer 12 Hilton 12-06.00
11 637 Gary Westberg 11 Lancaster 12-06.00
11 566 Colin Ellwanger 12 Webster Schr. 12-06.00
11 1165 Joe Verdeber 11 Riverhead 12-06.00
11 466 Elliott Cook 12 Chenango Forks 12-06.00
11 187 Ian Ackbarali 12 White Plains 12-06.00
11 464 Zack Hine 12 Elmira 12-06.00
11 165 Manny Martinez 12 North Rockland 12-06.00
11 370 John Slaven 12 Vvs 12-06.00
21 1259 Cardel Clemonds 12 South Shore 12-00.00
21 272 Chris Cozzens 11 Shenendehowa 12-00.00
21 1360 John Horvath 11 Fordham Prep 12-00.00
-- 380 Kenny Bucaro 12 Tully NH
-- 852 Matt Wilkens 12 Syosset NH
-- 870 Ryan Degnan 12 Levittown NH
-- 1249 Dennis Alex 12 Susan Wagner NH
-- 351 Craig Barber 12 Cicero-NS NH
-- 245 Jake Platel 11 Bethlehem NH
-- 1372 Cory Duggan 10 Msgr. Farrell NH

Quiller ties indoor mark at state qualifier

Quiller ties indoor mark at state qualifier
March 03, 2008
West Point — James I. O'Neill senior Robb Quiller tied the Section 9 indoor pole vault record with a leap of 15 feet, 6 inches at yesterday's state qualifier.

Quiller was one miss away from losing the meet to Wallkill's Eric VanAernam when he cleared 15 feet on his third try. VanAernam withdrew to run a relay, and Quiller went on to break his brother Rory's school mark with a strong clear at 15-2. He moved the bar to 15-6 and went over on the first try, tying the section mark established by Mike Uhelsky of Monroe-Woodbury in 1996.

"In my run, I wasn't moving too quick," Quiller said. "I could feel the pole bend kind of weird ... I thought no way I was going to make it. I figured I would finish the jump just for the heck of it and that really surprised me that I even cleared that."

Quiller missed on three attempts at 16 feet — the state indoor mark is 16-5 set by Casey DiCesare of Irvington in December 2005.

"I feel like maybe if everything is exactly right I could make 16," Quiller said.

He will compete in the state meet on Saturday and at nationals the week after.

robb quiller and garrett gardner going to the state meet.

congrats to robbie quiller pole vault 15'6 school record and ties section 9 indoor mark.garrett gardner 55m dash 6.78 finished 2nd,going to the state meet.